Re: Nash-Hudson-Packard merger: observations and work-up
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2019/2/11 21:59:53
"They needed longer/lower/wider, not just matching the competition but beating it by a couple years."
Absolutely! Problem was, Packard and Nash had already blown their wad on new bodies in 51 and 52, respectively. Packard then had to focus on the V8 and settle for major refresh for 55 while Nash dollars went into longer wheelbase 4 door Rambler for 54 and new skin, front/rear glass and Hudson sheetmetal for large 55s. Hudson blew it all on the Jet when it could have simply shared with Rambler. They didn't work together!!!
In my mind it was really Hudson who proved the biggest laggard, offering nothing except dealers, which eventually proved helpful to meeting Rambler sales records. And yet, of the three only Hudson had the mindset to go super low, which is why I think they should have been the go-to source for large bodies. It all could have worked just fine had they all simply copied GM, which had a very thoughtful sharing strategy that extended from Chevy all the way up to Cadillac. For example, correct me if wrong but all GM vehicles appear to have used the same windshield. Can you believe it?
Here's the '54 Olds 98 that Nash, Hudson and Packard were looking at in late '53. It's a beautiful car and only around 60.5 inches tall. Rests on 126 wb vs 122 for 88 by moving rear wheels rearward 4 inches (you can see the take-up in the skirts) and increasing rear overhang by 5. Deck is therefore 9 inches longer. GM used this 2-step often. For example, Cadillac's 62 sedan road on a 129 wb and used a long roof. The 60 Special used same roof and 133 wb, again moving the rear wheels back 4 inches and increasing the rear overhang only this time by 7 inches, with 11 inch longer deck. Buick 40/60 shared with Olds 88 while 50/70 shared with Cadillac 62 except its rear wheels were moved 2 inches forward. The big Buicks and all Cadillacs positioned there windshields higher than the other GM cars.
Attach file:
(54.66 KB)
Absolutely! Problem was, Packard and Nash had already blown their wad on new bodies in 51 and 52, respectively. Packard then had to focus on the V8 and settle for major refresh for 55 while Nash dollars went into longer wheelbase 4 door Rambler for 54 and new skin, front/rear glass and Hudson sheetmetal for large 55s. Hudson blew it all on the Jet when it could have simply shared with Rambler. They didn't work together!!!
In my mind it was really Hudson who proved the biggest laggard, offering nothing except dealers, which eventually proved helpful to meeting Rambler sales records. And yet, of the three only Hudson had the mindset to go super low, which is why I think they should have been the go-to source for large bodies. It all could have worked just fine had they all simply copied GM, which had a very thoughtful sharing strategy that extended from Chevy all the way up to Cadillac. For example, correct me if wrong but all GM vehicles appear to have used the same windshield. Can you believe it?
Here's the '54 Olds 98 that Nash, Hudson and Packard were looking at in late '53. It's a beautiful car and only around 60.5 inches tall. Rests on 126 wb vs 122 for 88 by moving rear wheels rearward 4 inches (you can see the take-up in the skirts) and increasing rear overhang by 5. Deck is therefore 9 inches longer. GM used this 2-step often. For example, Cadillac's 62 sedan road on a 129 wb and used a long roof. The 60 Special used same roof and 133 wb, again moving the rear wheels back 4 inches and increasing the rear overhang only this time by 7 inches, with 11 inch longer deck. Buick 40/60 shared with Olds 88 while 50/70 shared with Cadillac 62 except its rear wheels were moved 2 inches forward. The big Buicks and all Cadillacs positioned there windshields higher than the other GM cars.
Attach file:
(54.66 KB)
This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=209259